Palestinian prisoner, Nassar Majer Taqatqa, from Bethlehem, was announced dead in mysterious circumstances on Tuesday, July 16 in the Nitzan prison.
According to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Movement, Taqatqa’s death was discovered during the morning count, while the prisoner’s family learned the news of their son’s death from social media platforms.
#PNN Video: Mother of martyr Nasser Taqatqa speaks to PNN https://t.co/RuU6IFEmZQ #Palestine
— Eye on MENA (@ccilvb) July 16, 2019
Palestinian prisoners held in Israel responded with outrage as the news of their comrade’s death was announced, collectively banging on their cell doors and refusing meals. In response, Israeli authorities isolated all prisoners in their individual cells and prevented their lawyers from conducting previous scheduled visits.
Nassar, 31, was detained last June after Israeli forces stormed his house. According to his family, the Israeli army found no evidence that could justify his arrest, which remained unexplained until his death.
Palestinian prisoner Nassar Taqatqa (31), held in solitary confinement in an Israeli prison, has died barely a month after his arrest by occupation forces.https://t.co/h7ghYFP9jShttps://t.co/uhh5Ejrit2https://t.co/ilLqKuNj8C pic.twitter.com/qHMzBbZrGA
— Ben White (@benabyad) July 16, 2019
Taqatqa’s mother told reporters:
“I raised them as orphans. I was preparing to get him married, I had bought him clothes and furniture for his new house.”
She added,
“I am ill and he was always helpful to me.”
Palestinians take part in a protest in Ramallah, central West Bank, in condemnation of the recent death of Palestinian prisoner in Israeli jails Nassar Taqatqa, today. pic.twitter.com/5YaDIpAYEF
— Zaher Bassam (@zaher_bassam) July 16, 2019
In a statement issued today, the Prisoner’s Information Office said:
“All the indications prove that Nassar was subjected to brutal torture before his death. Additionally, he was not suffering from any disease.”
Palestinian prisoner's death in Israeli medical ward prompts raised alert: Israeli Prison Service says 30-year-old Nassar Taqatqa has been under medical supervision, while Palestinian officials demand investigation into death https://t.co/6nCXxrbwah Haaretz pic.twitter.com/MvZLnLQGEk
— Jewish Community (@JComm_NewsFeeds) July 16, 2019
In a press conference this morning held in Gaza, national and Islamic factions in the besieged Strip condemned what they described as “the crime of killing Nassar in cold blood”, calling for an investigation into the circumstances of his death.
Taqatqa is the 220th Palestinian prisoner to die in Israeli prisons since 1967.
– Wafa Aludaini is a Gaza-based journalist and the head of the 16th October youth group. She contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle.
